Why is the Church so Divided (10 Clear Reasons)

 

1. Not all believers are believers.

 

Jesus Himself warned us that not everyone who claims to be a believer is one (Mat 13:24-30, 36-43). He warned that not everyone who thinks that they are a believer is one (Mat 7:21-23). Most of the world today claims to be Christian, but Jesus warned that most people will not make it to Heaven (Mat 7:13-14), which means that many of those people are sadly deceived.

Someone who claims to be a Christian but is not cannot live in true unity with the Church. This is because everyone outside of Christ is ruled by Satan (1 John 5:19), as all of us were ruled by Satan at one time. As the Scriptures say:

 

“What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever” (2 Cor 6:15)?

 

2. Tribes are powerful.

 

All of us were called out of a tribe (Galatians 3:28). Your tribe may be your family, your friends, your country, your race, your political party, or any other group that you identify with. Tribes are more than just peer pressure: They define our sense of identity and self-worth even when no one is looking. To deny the beliefs of your tribe is to choose loneliness and shame.

Know any racist churches? That did not come from Jesus. It comes from another tribe that they belong to or have difficulty resisting. Know any churches that are greedy or worship idols in some form? Not Jesus –no: Their other tribes. 

These things are shadows of the world’s practices. True believers or not, when a group finds comfort in a sin, they come together to invent a theology that justifies it –so that they can rest in their comfort. Then, if they must, they will separate themselves from those who disagree with their sin (2 Timothy 4:3), so that their comfort is not taken away.

If these churches can’t agree with Jesus, then they certainly can’t agree with Jesus' other churches.

This is why we are told “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think”(Romans 12:2). Because your heart will always be drawn back to the approval of the tribes of the world, and you will be learning to rid yourself of their beliefs for your whole Christian life.

 

3. Real unity risks upsetting people, which is scary for everyone, but especially leaders.

 

Unity requires reconsidering your beliefs, confronting others, and accepting people who most people would not accept. All three of these practices are a gamble because each one can actually result in losing more relationships (or especially, followers) than you gain. Why not settle for the many relationships you already have, or the shallow “peace” that exists between you and your brother? If a leader’s church is doing really well (in his own eyes), then why would he risk what he has built to pursue perfection, as Paul did (2 Cor 11:2, Phil 3:14)?

 

This makes Jesus a shepherd unlike the rest: He leaves the 99 for the 1 (Mat 18:12).

 

Besides this, jealousy compels many leaders to gate-keep their followers from the rest of the church (2 Cor 10:12-13). They want to be followed and admired, and in many cases, handsomely paid.

 

4. Vulnerability and faith are hard.

 

Lazarus’ sisters were afraid to ask Jesus to raise their brother from the dead:

 

“‘Lord,’ Martha said to Jesus, ‘if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.’

 

“Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’

 

“Martha answered, ‘I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.’

 

“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?’

 

“‘Yes, Lord,’ she replied, ‘I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.…’

 

“When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.’

 

“When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled. (John 11:21-26, 32-33)”

 

The truth is that we should expect that our faith and obedience to God’s word will be:

 

•  Met by God’s miracle working power (Mat 6:33).

• Accepted by other believers, followed by their blessing (1 John 4:6, Mat 19:29).

 

Ironically, the exact opposite of these events flood our imaginations when an opportunity to step out in faith towards unity comes.

 

Yes, God wants us to believe in these things even if we trusted Him in the past for them and fell flat on our faces (Luke 18:1-8).

 

If Mary and Martha had trouble hoping for the best with Jesus (IN THE FLESH) right in front of them, surely we will have the same struggle while He is invisible to us. 

 

And how much harder it is to trust in the love of flawed human beings!

 

Plainly, being vulnerable about your needs comes with a risk of being rejected. It’s easier to never hope and to never step out in faith for more than what you have.

 

5. Caring is rare (priorities).

 

Paul told the Philippians, “I have no one else like Timothy, who genuinely cares about your welfare. All the others care only for themselves and not for what matters to Jesus Christ” (Phil 2:20-21).

 

Wow. Just one guy? Out of all of the Christians that Paul knows? Surely, Paul is not saying that Timothy is the only true believer that he knows (Phil 1:6, Eph 1:13-14, etc.).

 

I don’t want to get to Heaven one day and have Jesus tell me “You made it, but you wasted your life. You obviously did not care much about what I wanted.” but this will be the experience of many believers (1 Cor 3:12-15).

 

Most Christians will not put you above their wants, much less their needs. 

 

If they don’t have their life prioritized enough to even pray every day, much less will they make time for you. Not that those who pat themselves on the back for praying and volunteering constantly care about you either. They’d also rather waste their time on laziness or work hard to build their own earthly kingdom. Sadly, many of them fool themselves into believing that they are building God’s Kingdom.

 

This is quite the opposite of the church seen in the book of Acts:

 

“All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.

 

“A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity— all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved....

 

“All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had. The apostles testified powerfully to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God’s great blessing was upon them all. There were no needy people among them, because those who owned land or houses would sell them and bring the money to the apostles to give to those in need” (Acts 2:42-47, 4:32-35).

 

6. Grace is hard.

 

After teaching His disciples to confront and be restored with one another, Peter tries to make a bargain:

 

“Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times” (Matthew 18:21)”?

 

Jesus does not let Peter off so easily.

 

When does grace mean confronting sin? When does grace mean “forget it”?

 

The answer: 

 

Probably exactly when either is the opposite of what you feel. And often the opposite of what gets you the approval of others.

 

I wrote this article about understanding the meaning of grace: What does “Grace” Mean in the Bible?, and this one to understand the application of grace: How Do I Forgive Someone Who Hurt Me? (And What Forgiveness Is Really For).

 

7. Humility is hard.

 

Peter denied Jesus three times. When the Lord Himself confronted Peter, Peter could barely acknowledge the sin (John 21).

 

Jesus did everything right:

• He greeted Peter with a gift (the fish).

• He gave Peter more than one chance to say “I love you” (in English Peter says “You know that I love you,” but in the Greek you can see that Peter uses a weaker word for “love” than Jesus was using.).

• He honored Peter by restoring Peter to his position of authority and assured Peter of His love (“Feed my lambs.”).

 

And after all of that, Peter was still offended at Jesus’ methods. 

 

Then, Peter even has the gall to be resentful when Jesus tells Peter that he too will be crucified –asking why it could not be John. The same cowardice clung to him as it did when he denied Jesus before!

 

The book of John does not even record Peter’s repentance, but we see that Peter does repent because he leads the church in the book of Acts. And we know by tradition that Peter died for the Gospel with joy.

 

It is the hardest thing possible for someone to admit their wrongs.There is no prayer more ambitious than for the repentance of someone else (Mat 19:25-26).

 

8. Unity is supernatural.

 

“God’s purpose in [His plan from the beginning of time] was to use the Church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord [by His death and Resurrection]….

 

“Now to Him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us— to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen” (Eph 3:10-11, 20).

 

It is supernatural for just two people to live in unity. Only God can make it happen. Surely, this is even more true for the Church as a whole. But Jesus believed that it could be done, so He prayed this in faith:

 

“I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.

 

“I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me”(John 17:20-23).

 

9. Satan is actively trying to divide believers.

 

The goal of the Church is to serve God, and Satan is at war against us and our goal (Rev 12:17).

 

Paul commands the Corinthians:

 

“When you forgive this man, I forgive him, too. And when I forgive whatever needs to be forgiven, I do so with Christ’s authority for your benefit, so that Satan will not outsmart us. For we are familiar with his evil schemes” (2 Cor 2 10-11).

 

By this we can see that one of Satan’s goals is division in the Church –even on a small scale.

I used to think it was so goofy when people would say that Satan was attacking their marriage. Why would Satan care?

 

But the truth is that Satan is not only at war against your marriage, but all of your Christian relationships.

 

10. Vision (Evangelism, Peace)

 

Jesus’ prayer for unity in John 17 is often eclipsed by His Great Commision:

 

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Mat 28:18-20).

 

Many churches neglect to fight for unity between believers because they are too busy trying to save nonbelievers from Hell.

 

The Great Commission cannot be overemphasized, but the power of our witness comes PRIMARILY from believers’ unity. Not miracles. Not kindness. Unity.

 

As Jesus mentioned in His prayer:

 

“May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me.”

 

Biblical unity (or “peace”) is not toleration, and it doesn’t stop at putting our differences aside to work towards the same goal. Even the World does that! How does that make Christians any different?

 

Unity is fiery first love (Rev 2:4), and it always works for and prays for complete oneness:

 

“Make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose” (Phil 2:2).